Dr Harry Vassallo, chairman of Alternattiva Demokratika – the Green Party – has been elected to the European Green Party (EGP) Committee.

The election was held at the EGP’s fourth council meeting held in Helsinki, Finland earlier this month.

Dr Vassallo said that his election to the EGP committee, following the long tenure by Prof. Arnold Cassola of the post of secretary-general of the EGP, “is a measure of the standing of the Maltese Greens at European level, thanks to Prof. Cassola’s service to the EGP and to the performance of Alternattiva Demokratika in recent years.”

The new EGP committee, which will serve for just over three years until after the European Elections in 2009, was given a mandate to link all Green parties in a common pan-European effort.

“European Greens are an important influence in the EU which is a world leader in setting environmental, social and economic standards. The challenge and the responsibility of the EGP is to ensure that the gains made so far are safeguarded by making them applicable to those who want to provide goods and services to the world’s largest single market. We must act to improve the quality of life of populations in other countries and not be driven into a race to the bottom,” Dr Vassallo said.

“This task can only be carried out if Greens achieve a greater representation in the European Parliament,” he added.

This council meeting was the last one organised by Prof. Cassola as outgoing secretary-general of the EGP after he was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies on the Federazione dei Verdi list in last month’s Italian general election.

Prof. Cassola is succeeded as secretary-general of the EGP by Juan Behrend (Bundnis 90/Die Grunen) from Germany.